EDUCATION
Plymouth State University has named Nate Bowditch provost and vice president of academic affairs. Prior to his time as a professor of philosophy at Long Island University Post College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, he served as dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.
Franklin Pierce University has named Eric C. Graage vice president for university advancement. He will serve as the chief fundraising officer for Franklin Pierce, and also work to develop programs in planned giving and parent and family relations.
The Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) will honor Jeremy Hitchcock, a technology entrepreneur and former board chairman, with the Walter R. Peterson Award for Education and Public Service on Nov. 3. The honor is presented to an individual whose contributions best exemplify the values of public service and dedication to higher education.
Two Lakes Region Community College students earned medals at the 2022 SkillsUSA Championships, held in Atlanta, Ga., in June: pastry arts student Starr Perry was awarded silver in the Job Skill Demo A category, and Arianna Roberts, a pastry and culinary arts graduate, was awarded a bronze medal in the commercial baking category.
Great Bay Community College has partnered with the Association for Supply Chain Management Northern New England to offer a Certified Production and Inventory Management certificate program in their Business and Training Center at the Rochester campus, starting this September. The certificate program will include courses in supply chain fundamentals and inventory management, taught by Paul Moriarty.
ACCOUNTING
Dorothy Young has been promoted to director of human resources at Melanson. She has over 23 years of human resources experience, and has held previous roles at Melexis, Inc. and Devine Millimet before joining Melanson in 2019 as human resources manager.
The Regional Economic Development Center (REDC) has been selected by the NH Community Development Finance Authority to offer business financing to New American business owners seeking to open or grow their business in the Granite State. The REDC invites corporate partners to join in support of the REDC’s 2023 NH New Americans Loan Fund by purchasing tax credits or making direct charitable contributions.
MEDIA
McLean Communications, a subsidiary of Yankee Publishing Inc., recently promoted Jenna Pelech from sales manager to advertising and event sales director.
HEALTHCARE
Rob Memmolo of Barrington has been named executive director of Benchmark at Rye, a Benchmark Mind & Memory Care community. Most recently, he served as executive director of Benchmark’s Bedford Falls assisted living and Mind & Memory Care community in Bedford.
ClearChoiceMD Urgent Care and St. Joseph Hospital have entered a partnership that offers continuity of care for patients in the greater Nashua region. As part of the affiliation, ClearChoiceMD will operate a new urgent care center on Main Street in Nashua, which will offer ondemand treatment for non-life-threatening medical needs, including on-site laboratory services, X-rays and occupational health services.
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital unveiled its new brand last month, representing its collaboration with the Mass General Brigham system. The new logo was inspired by the architecture of the two original hospital buildings of Mass General and Brigham and Women’s, and the four pillars represent the four-part mission of patient care, research, teaching and service to the community.
Ashley Tino of New Boston has been named the new executive director of Bedford Falls, a Benchmark assisted living and Mind & Memory Care community. For the past 10 years, she worked with the organization as a licensed nursing assistant and then as the director of community relations.
Fairview Senior Living recently hired Nadine Robinson as a board-certified music therapist to address patients’ therapeutic objectives.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
The Sullivan Country Store was among 134 grantees to receive $22.6 million in financial assistance through the 2021 round of America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative’s Targeted Small Grants Program. Funding for the HFFI grants program is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
The Red Arrow Diner has partnered with the Manchester Historic Association to create a commemorative 100th anniversary pewter ornament with Steel Berry in Vermont. Starting in August, the ornaments will be available for purchase through the MHA at each of the Diner’s locations in Manchester, Concord, Londonderry and Nashua, and on their website.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Alison DiPaola of Newport has been promoted to senior vice president, chief human resources officer at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. With over a decade in the industry, she has served in previous roles at Mascoma Bank and Lake Sunapee Bank, which was acquired by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust in 2017.
Federal benefits administrator FedPoint of Portsmouth recently took the AARP Employer Pledge, affirming its commitment to hiring experienced workers and to developing a diverse workforce. It has become one of 33 insurance companies nationwide that have joined the program.
Nicole LaPorte has been promoted to senior vice president, corporate controller at NH Mutual Bancorp.
New Hampshire Federal Credit Union, Concord, recently announced the officers of its board of directors for 2022-23: James P. Fredyma, chair; Lori H. Real, vice chair; A. Allan Clark, treasurer; and George C. Gendron Jr., secretary.
Matt Thomas, a mortgage loan officer for Merrimack County Savings Bank, has been named the 2021 Top Loan Originator among New Hampshire banks for the third year in a row. According to data collected by the Warren Group and published in the Registry Review, Thomas ranked first statewide for both volume and number of loans. He also ranked first in southeast New Hampshire for both volume and number of loans. Statewide, Thomas processed nearly 300 loans totaling roughly $78,361,000. A majority of those loans were for real estate purchases in southwest New Hampshire including Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties.
Members First Credit Union, Manchester, has announced the promotion of Cynthia McCormick to senior vice president, retail and deposit operations.
NBT Bank has promoted Malindra Ratnayake and welcomed J. Chad Richards to the company’s New Hampshire commercial banking team as commercial portfolio managers. Ratnayake joined the Bank in 2013, serving as the credit support team leader, and Richards brings more than a decade of commercial banking experience to his new role, including a background in credit analysis and relationship management. Paul Stanley and Joseph Skees, managing partners and certified financial planners at Granite Bay Wealth Management, have both earned the Certified Portfolio Manager designation from the Academy of Certified Portfolio Managers at the NYU Stern School of Business.
Randy Sivigny has joined St. Mary’s Bank as commercial banking team lead. Previously, he worked at Merrimack County Savings Bank, Bank of New England and EverBank Commercial Finance in various capacities. The bank has also promoted Amy Gauthier to branch sales and service manager of the Hudson office, where she’s worked in various roles for the past eight years.
Kelly Brown has been named vice president, administration and operations manager at NHTrust. She joined the firm last year as assistant vice president and trust administration manager, with past experience providing wealth management services to affluent clients throughout New York City, Long Island and Connecticut.
The Savings Bank of Walpole is opening a new branch in Rindge as it seeks to grow its local footprint. The bank said it plans to open its seventh branch along Route 202 early next year, with work slated to begin on the new location this month. The bank will renovate a former GFA Federal Credit Union location at 31 Sonja Drive, making use of a drive-thru that already exists on the side of the building. The branch is expected to open in early 2023, according to a news release from Savings Bank of Walpole.
Gary W. Pelletier, an independent financial advisor at Northeast Planning Associates in Nashua, has partnered with fellow NPA advisor Caleb Kirby. Together, they bring over 50 years of financial services experience to New England families and small businesses.
Ian O’Neil has joined Bangor Wealth Management of New Hampshire as a relationship manager in the Portsmouth office. Most recently, he was a branch manager bringing over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry.
The newest branch of Meredith Village Savings Bank, at 21 Farmington Rd. in Rochester, is now open. “We broke ground on the branch in late October and construction progressed close to schedule even with recent delays in some supplies and equipment,” said MVSB President Rick Wyman. Jolene Whitehead, branch and business development manager will head the team in Rochester, which also includes Julie Clement, who was recently promoted to vice president, business development and small business lender; Traynor Cully, commercial loan officer; and Nicole Ames, mortgage loan officer.
LAW
Megg Acquilano has joined the NH Bar Association as director of professional development, managing and developing the Association’s continuing legal education programs. She previously worked as district-wide technology trainer for the Londonderry School District.
ARCHITECTURE
John Brie of Dover has joined JSA Design, Portsmouth, as a project architect. Brie has worked in commercial and residential architecture, most recently as an architect and project manager for Walker Architects in Gainesville, Fla.
CONSTRUCTION
General contractor Kingsbury Companies of Middlesex, Vt., has been awarded two projects in northern New Hampshire. One, at the Bretton Woods Wastewater Treatment Facility, consists of the removal, dewatering and disposal of sewage sludge from two existing aerated lagoons, the installation of two new 60-mil HDPE liners and the replacement of the aeration system. The company also has begun work on a water system intake Replacement project in Canaan.
NONPROFITS
The YMCA of Downtown Manchester has received a $10,000 Community Event & Activation grant, given to nonprofits that help promote communitybased projects and events contributing to community health and safety, economic development and tourism to help Manchester recover from the negative economic effects of the pandemic.
The Boys & Girls Club of Manchester has welcomed Hashira Rodriguez as its new director of development and JR Linden as director of finance. Rodriguez is a club alumnus with over 20 years of experience working with the nonprofit, and Linden brings over 19 years in the industry to his new role.
Montcalm Golf Club, a semi-private golf course in Enfield, is teaming up with PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), to introduce golf to veterans with disabilities.
With the help of the White River Junction, Vt., Veterans Affairs office, veterans will be enrolled in a program that introduces golf through a developmental six-to-eight-week curriculum as a form of therapy, taught by PGA professionals trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency. All programs are funded by PGA REACH and supplemented by PGA Section Foundations, and the cost of programming is free to all veterans.
The NH Children’s System of Care has unveiled a new website, NHCSoC.org, in its work to provide children, youth and their families with an easy-to-use mental and behavioral health resource and support directory that provides support for families navigating mental and behavioral health struggles. The website was funded by the NH Department of Education through the System of Care SAMSHA grant.
United Way of Greater Nashua volunteers and staff have created Rosie’s Pantry, a free woman’s hygiene cabinet accessible outside Girls Inc. on Burke Street in Nashua. The cabinet was designed and painted by student artist Isabella Zayas, featuring her interpretation of Rosie the Riveter.
Katie Geery, a financial advisor at Rise Private Wealth Management, has been appointed to the board of directors for Stay Work Play, a nonprofit whose mission is to attract and retain more young people in New Hampshire. Granite VNA recently held its annual Passion for Caring fundraiser in Laconia, which generated more than $40,000 in donations that will support the agency’s home, health and hospice care services across 82 New Hampshire communities. The Foundation for Seacoast Health recently awarded $600,000 in grants to 20 local nonprofits, including Gather, Cross Roads House, NAMI NH, Prescott Park Arts Festival, Step Up Parents, among others. The Foundation also awarded $20,000 in scholarships to four students pursuing health-related degrees: Emily Locandro, of Rye; Jillian Carr, of York; Lilia Potter-Schwartz, of Portsmouth; and Sarah Morin, of Portsmouth. Cynthia Cote of Durham was presented with a $10,000 donation for the Betty J. Borry Breast Cancer Retreats. The donation was given from the New England Patriots Foundation during an awards ceremony last June.
Shannon Sullivan of Manchester has joined The Palace Theatre as its new director of corporate and community partnerships. She brings many years of communications experience with her from organizations such as Consolidated Communications, the NH Union Leader and Granite United Way.
The Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success has been awarded a $30,000 grant by the NH Children’s Health Foundation to bring access to affordable, fresh, local food, including vegetables and fruit, eggs, milk and meat, to lowincome communities across Concord, Manchester and Nashua through its Fresh Start Farms mobile farmers’ market.
The NH Food Bank has received a $900,000 grant from the USDA to support efforts to provide those in need with access to locally grown fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy.
The funds will help the NH Food Bank and the NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets and Food to expand the Food Bank’s “NH Feeding NH” program, a statewide initiative supporting the purchase of food from New Hampshire farmers to give to food-insecure Granite Staters. In addition, the NH Food Bank also received $40,000 in donations from this year’s NH Gives online fundraising event, including a $10,000 matching gift from the Hirschberg Family Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation.
The Foundation for Seacoast Health has introduced a new grant, the Terry Morton Award for At-Risk Youth, that could provide up to $25,000 in support for projects or programs that address the unmet mental health needs of Seacoast youth, ages 12-19. Applications for the grant are being accepted now through Aug. 15 at foundationforseacoasthealth.org/grantmaking.
REAL ESTATE
The site of the former Stratham Tire Retail Center in Laconia, which includes a 6,297-square-foot retail building and a 5,000-square-foot storage/warehouse building on 1.37 acres of land, has been sold. Jerry Hersch of the commercial division of Londonderry-based Tinkham Realty represented the seller, The Lionel R. LaBonte Revocable Trust, and assisted the buyer, Wesley Ray Drew. Sale price, according to the Belknap Registry of Deeds, was $925,000.
Ground is expected to be broken on The Residences and Shops at Kelly Brook, a new 64-unit housing project in Dover, at the site of the former McCrone Family Christmas Tree Farm at 239 Knox Marsh Rd. Equine Properties LLC plans to build 12 single-family residences and two three-story mixed-use buildings, each with a first-floor commercial space and 26 residential units above. The 52 apartment units will be rented at market rate, and the developer intends to sell the 12 single-family homes.
The Old Navy clothing chain plans to open a Keene location early next year in the Monadnock Marketplace, a shopping center along Route 9. The San Francisco-based clothing and accessories retailer is owned by Gap Inc. The closest Old Navy locations to Keene are in Merrimack and in Leominster, Mass., with both stores roughly 40 miles from the Elm City.
TECHNOLOGY
Creative Information Systems Inc. and Interware Development Company, Inc. have integrated their technologies SMSTurbo and POS Device Manager, which will allow operators at local landfills and transfer stations to quickly process credit card payments through high security protocols without ever leaving the app.
Right Networks, a managed service provider for accounting firms, has hired two new members to its leadership team: Jonathan Lupa, chief technology officer, and Thomas LeSaffre, vice president of strategy and corporate development.
The NH Tech Alliance has appointed four new members to its board of directors: Katie Destramp, senior manager of cloud engineering at Fastly; Shannon Herrmann, senior recruiting manager, Alexander Technology Group; Rajesh Nair, founder, Encube Labs; and Dr. Barbara Jobst, chair of the Dept. of Neurology and Neurocritical Care, Dartmouth Health. The board also appointed Marlana Trombley of Orbit Group and Heather Lavoie of Illume Advisors as secretary and vice chair, respectively.
UTILITIES
Aquarion Water Company of New Hampshire has acquired the water system of Wiggin Way Winterberry Homeowners Association located in Stratham, adding 43 customers to AWC’s Seacoast Region service territory that now includes the town of Stratham, Hampton, North Hampton and Rye.
RETAIL
The Fourth Place will be opening its doors in Hanover this September as a retail hub for comics, table-top games and more in pop culture. Studio Nexus of White River Junction, Vt., is providing architecture and design, and Estes & Gallup Inc. of Lyme, NH, are on board for construction services.
GOVERNMENT
The City of Manchester has issued a $3.4 million request for proposals for the development of affordable housing units in the city. Funding for the grants come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME-ARP Program and the American Rescue Plan Act. The funds may be used for the development of non-congregate shelter, new affordable rental units or rehabilitation of existing units for “qualifying populations” and “low-income households” as defined by HUD.
Rep. Suzanne Smith, D-Hebron, has been recognized as the inaugural recipient of The Rev. Sidney Lovett Memorial Award for Exemplary Lake Advocacy by NH LAKES, a nonprofit that works to ensure the cleanliness and health of lakes.
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